Bellisimo Italian countryside

---

Its not often when we get the opportunity to travel somewhere in Europe that is not touristy at all, so when we had the opportunity to stay in the tiny village of Gazzola, tucked away in the mountains of northern Italy, we jumped at the chance. The nearest big town is Piacenza, and from there we drove for an hour along narrow winding roads to get to the village containing just a handful of houses.

We hit the markets in the main plaza of Piacenza which is swamped with statues of soldiers riding horses, a massive catholic church and a concerete factory towering in the distance, pretty much the norm for an Italian town, before having some lunch. Whilst eating lunch, two police officers rode past of bikes and stopped to get something from a shop. The female officer was so glamourous it was like she was out of a movie, I was waiting for the slow motion, remove the hat and shake out the hair moment but it didn't happen. The Italians are generally a fairly glamourous bunch and as we walked the streets (gelati in hand of course) there were a number of head turners even in this relatively inglamourous town. The market sprawled along the river in Piacenza and olives, bread, cheese, salami were the main market purchases with plenty on offer to tempt us.

Castell'Arqauato was our next stop, a medieval castle on the top of the hills with stunning views of the vineyards, farms and villages that surround the area. This medieval town has maintained its appearance as it was in the early 10th century, the Old Town of Castell'Arquato is a high rock which was strategically important for dominating the valley, hence the great views. There was a medieval festival in progress so many people were dressed up in costume, singing and dancing to add to the atmosphere.

From there we hit Don Alfredos, an agriturismo restaurant near Fiorienzuola d'Arda. Agriturismo is a concept of having a restaurant on a farm. The restaurant itself is quite simple and at this one we sat outside overlooking the crop fields as we watched the sun set at around 8pm. At 8pm, we were the first people in the place for the evening, but by 9pm the place was full. The food and wine were amazing and we were well and truly stuffed by the end after antipasto, followed by pasta, followed by main, washed down with coffee. We were a bit of a novelty for the staff as it is not the kind of farmhouse you would find in a Lonely Planet guidebook and they got a good chuckle out of my attempts at speaking Italian.

The next morning was a beautiful one for a run up to the nearby church followed by a coffee and a sit outside in the mountains reading in complete silence. The perfect way to enjoy the slow life in the Italian mountains before heading back to crazy Milan and back to the chaos of London.

---